I am looking to see there is a scale accurate enough to count tape & reel components such as resistors and capacitors sized at 0402. Any recommendations?
My thought is using a scale will be quicker than a reel counter but I want to be sure that we collect accurate inventory counts.
Hello wjr,
Welcome to the DigiKey TechForum community.
We don’t have many options to offer in precision scales like that. Some options in link here:
Specialty Equipment | Test Equipment | Electronic Components Distributor DigiKey
Most of these options here mention that they are suited for parts counting application among other uses though they defer in the minimum weight readability. Some go as low as 1mg but those tend to be more expensive. Unfortunately all the options in that link are marketplace items, not something DigiKey stocks nor ships. Take a look at the data sheets of each and review if any can work for you.
Small SMT components on tape may weigh less than their packaging. That packaging isn’t all that tightly specified, and if one’s talking about paper tape it might well be subject to humidity-dependent variations. Then there’s the reel hub to consider, and any lengths of leader/trailer tape present, and…
Long story short, a reel counter really is the better solution. Even with loose bulk parts, there can be enough variation in product to affect a count regardless of how good one’s scale is.
1 Like